Central Banks Loses Interest in Issuing Crypto, Says Thomas Moser

Swiss National Bank (SNB) board director Thomas Moser says central banks are not as interested in issuing cryptocurrencies as central bank-issued digital currencies (CBDCs) as they were before. According to Moser, their interest on the matter had just slumped.

During the Zug Crypto Valley Conference, Moser told Business Insider that the initial interest central banks had on issuing CBDCs has waned:

“The whole technical issue, which excited everyone, really takes second place to this conceptual policy issue. The mood now is: everyone is monitoring it, some are experimenting with it, heavily, but I think everyone is waiting for someone else to do it first so we can.”

Moser also commented on crypto’s underlying tech, blockchain. Blockchain tech, according to Moser, is still “too primitive” for Switzerland to properly issue electronic currency.

“It’s kind of cumbersome to have all your money, all your savings in bank notes. It’s much easier if you can just switch it or have an account with the Swiss National Bank. Then it becomes very volatile—in good times everyone has their money with the banks to earn interest, in the bad times, everyone has it on their devices. There are things we need to think about how we would handle.”

Moser also clarified that the Swiss National Bank was neither for nor against cryptocurrencies. They are “basically neutral” towards it.